THE NEWCASTLE BRIDGE

With shorter cooler days I decided to keep my “Search” closer to home. I’ve found several internet sources that say that the old bridge that crosses the South Canadian river north of Newcastle was the first federal project in Oklahoma. It would be an easy afternoon trip from my home in Oklahoma City.

Almost all of the initial research I’ve been doing to find the Ozark Auto Trail is on the internet. Travel blogs, government websites, newspaper websites, map sites etc. Unfortunately, when others like me find something, they tend to repeat it as fact without sourcing it. So, something that seems to be corroborated by several sources is really just one murky source being repeated several times. The bridge across the South Canadian north of Newcastle is no exception. I first found the reference to the bridge reading a blog early on in my “Search”. Then, on Wikipedia. And, finally, at the Oklahoma Historical Society’s “Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History” on Oklahoma State University’s digital library, http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia . I’ll do my best to let you know where I get my information. You can decide whether or not they are reputable sources.

Although I’d driven by the “Newcastle Bridge” several times on my way from Oklahoma City to Chickasha on I-44, I’d always thought that it was an old railroad bridge. It was only after I started researching the Ozark Trail that I found it was an old highway bridge built in 1923.

The day I set out was overcast and cool, but I had just purchased some warmer riding gear and it gave me a good chance to check it out. I’d read on Wikipedia that until the bridge was built, farmers from Newcastle would ford the South Canadian river at May Avenue to go to the Farmers Market at Reno and Western. So, I thought I’d ride down May Avenue until it ran into the South Canadian River then find a way to access the bridge.

It was slow going. May Avenue has always been a main thoroughfare in Oklahoma City and includes on its route the state fairgrounds. May is STILL a main thoroughfare jammed with traffic and stop lights. As I drove from north to south the architecture changed from 1950’s Contemporary styles to 1940’s Art Deco to turn-of-the-century farm houses.

I didn’t take many pictures this day. There was a lot of construction on May and when I got to the South Canadian I spent most of my time driving down one road and then the next trying to reach the river and hopefully gain access to the old bridge. There were lots of “No Trespassing” signs many of which were hand written and included threats of bodily harm.

Finally, running out of time and patience, I jumped up on I-44 and drove by the bridge. I had never realized how CLOSE the old bridge was to the interstate. Only a few steps! I took Exit 108 and drove an old section of portland cement south toward Newcastle. It reminded me a lot of the roadway that connected to the Sapulpa bridge, so I knew it must have been part of the original Ozark Trail. Little of the old roadway is left. It’s been obliterated to make way for the new overpass. I took the overpass over I-44 and stopped to take a photo of the bridge.



Then back down the ramp and onto I-44 again. Then I took the SW 74th street exit went underneath I-44 and back south again. I pulled onto the shoulder just shy of the new bridge. A little dangerous, I know. What’s that old saying, “curiosity killed the cat”? Cars wooshed by as I walked across the bar ditch and climbed up the embankment to the bridge. The people in those cars probably figured I was looking for a place to pee, but I was there to get a couple of photos.





It’s interesting to compare my photo with one from the 1940s that's on the Oklahoma Department of Transportation website .



I’ve driven by the “Newcastle Bridge” many times never realizing it’s true identity and the story of it’s importance to the state and the region; Federal Highway Project #1 in Oklahoma, vital link for farmers between Newcastle and the Farmers Market in Oklahoma City, vital link for commerce between Missouri and New Mexico. It made me wonder. What other places we pass by every day without knowing their story and their significance? How many PEOPLE do we pass by every day without knowing their story and their significance?

Do You Know The Way To Monte Ne?

Wouldn’t you know it? On the weekend I planned to take my overnight ride to Monte Ne, the resort that served as the Ground Zero for the Ozark Trail, rain moved in and the temperature dropped into the low 40s. On top of that my daughter and son-in-law came in from Iowa for homecoming at Oklahoma State.

No worries. I wore an extra layer. Had homemade chili with the kids in Stillwater. Here they are.



Then headed east on OK 51 and connected with Scenic 412 to Arkansas via Avery Drive and old Route 66.



The Avery name is important to the Ozark Trail. Before he became the “Father of Route 66”, Cyrus Avery served as vice president of the Ozark Trail Association. During the late 1910s and early 1920s he also served as a state highway commissioner in Oklahoma, a member of the American Association of State Highway Officials and president of the Associated Highways Association of America. This long list of credentials helped get Avery appointed to the 21 member committee that set up the numbered highway system. No wonder large sections of the Ozark Trail were incorporated into Route 66.

I had thought about searching for the supposed Yale obelisk that the Lincoln County Sheriff Deputy had told me about. But I’d spent more time than I’d planned talking with my daughter and son-in-law and it was cloudy and cold and I was concerned about making it to my campsite before dark. So I pressed on to Tulsa.



I should have taken the original alignment which would have been along the original track of the Ozark Trail, but the siren song of Route 66 often pulls me off track. I used to scoff at those who romanticized the “Mother Road”. But spend a little time on it and the concrete and steel become like flesh and bone and we travelers are its life blood. See what I mean? I don’t usually talk like that. Besides, had I taken the original alignment, I wouldn’t have found Talley’s Café.



Like I said, it was cold, cloudy and getting dark. So I made a note to stop at Tally’s on the way home and continued to press on to Arkansas hoping to set camp before dark.




But didn’t quite make it. I finished setting camp after dark and headed for the Monte Ne Inn for some fried chicken.



I’ve always been told that hunger is the best sauce, but I’ve never had better bean soup, cole slaw and fried chicken. In fact, next time I won’t bother eating the corn, green beans or mashed potatoes just to save room for more of the best fried chicken in the world!



As I was paying I asked the proprietor how to get to the old Monte Ne ruins. He showed me some old photos of the resort during its prime and told me how to find the ruins. I headed back to camp. It was a cold night. But I had a warm sleeping bag.

Next morning I realized where I’d set up camp



on a playground!




It was a bright sunny morning and the ride on the curvy road from Horseshoe Bend Campground was much more enjoyable in the daylight than it was the dark, cloudy night before. And the Ozarks were just starting to show their fall colors.



It amazed me how the tower of Oklahoma Row at Monte Ne was invisible from the road and yet so easy to find. Thanks, no doubt, to the good instructions I got the night before at the Monte Ne Inn. This is the tower of Oklahoma Row. It stood at one end of one of two large lodges made of logs.



The log portion has been moved nearly a mile west on Highway 94 and still stands.



One hundred years ago other visitors looked out this same window of the tower at the Arkansas forest.



I wandered around the ruins.







After about an hour I headed back to Oklahoma.

With the sun out and the temperature rising into the 60s I took time to stop for photos on the way back.



I’m certain this stretch of Scenic 412 was once a part of the Ozark Trail, but I haven’t been able to document it anywhere. The winding curves and occasional tourist courts like this one in Locust Grove have the feel of the old road.



But once you join US 412 the curves give way to straight away. It was good to leave that straightness of US412 and rejoin old 66 in Tulsa. This time I stopped at Talley’s.



The cheeseburger and fries were average, but the waitress was attentive and the décor was straight out of the 1960s.



Today I’m riding a Ninja time machine. This morning it carried me a hundred years back to Monte Ne. Now we’ve made it back to mid century at Talley’s! And by the time I get home, I’ll be back in the present.

The sun was warm and the sky clear, so on the way back to Oklahoma City I turned off at every sign that said “Old Hwy 66” hoping to find more of the Ozark Trail.

Between Luther and Arcadia I stop to take a photo of an old, abandoned gas station I’d passed many times.



The owners of the land it’s on have put up a history of the building indicating it was built prior to 1920, thus an original structure on the Ozark Trail.

What I Learned

In the past roads connected communities and people. Today, old roads can connect us to the past. We don't always know where the roads we travel will lead us. So, it's nice, every once in a while, to look back at the road that brought us to where we are.


Where Next?

Though I want to head for the Texas Panhandle to see the four obelisk’s, the days are shorter and the weather’s turning colder. So I’ll stay closer to home. I’ve seen references to parts of the original trail between Anadarko and Hobart, Oklahoma. And there’s an Ozark Trail Motel and Restaurant in Fletcher, Oklahoma. All in the same general area. A good day trip out of Oklahoma City. And there’s always that rumored EIGHTH OBELISK somewhere near Yale, OK . . .

The Rock Creek Bridge

The section of the Ozark Trail west of Sapulpa was easy to find. It was only about 100 yards east of the intersection of Highways 33 and 66. The Ozark Trail section is 3 ½ miles of original portland cement roadway that had been laid in the mid to early 1920s. Sometime in the past 40 years it had been covered with a thin overlay of asphalt.



The railroad trestle on the right is also circa 1924.



And, at the east end a bonus! The old, abandoned Tee Pee Drive In!





And, of course, the brick road bed of Rock Creek Bridge.







No time for more photos. I had to push on to Langston or it would get dark on me again.


ON TO LANGSTON

OK33 was recently rerouted and widened to bypass Langston and Coyle so the drive east to Langston was straight, smooth and boring; especially after getting to ride nearly 5 miles of the original Ozark Trail today.

It was Sunday afternoon in Langston and the only thing open was the same place that had told me to just ride around town until I found the obelisk. So I did.

From one end of the town to the other I rode. From one street to the next I searched. No luck. Finally, sitting on the west end of town, I realized old OK33 swung north as soon as it hit the city limits. So, emulating what I had done earlier in Davenport, I stayed straight, on to Washington Street and in a couple of blocks I could see the 21 foot tall concrete obelisk dead ahead.



It’s in town at the unpaved intersection of Washington and Logan Streets. Though it’s missing its lights and paint, it’s still in good condition. This particular marker is also on the Indian Meridian, the pre statehood line that ran North to South and divided Indian lands from the Unassigned Lands in Oklahoma. Thus, it became one of the boundary lines from which thousands made the Land Run of 1889.



According to the plaque on the marker, even when this route became a part of the Ozark Trail it was already the main road between Guthrie and Stillwater.

I’ve since learned efforts are underway in Logan County to pave the intersection and to take steps to preserve this landmark. Hopefully the folks in Lincoln County will take similar steps to protect the Stroud marker.


WHAT I LEARNED

Prior to 1956, roads connected communities. After the National Interstate and Defense Highway Act of 1956, roads bypassed communities. I’m beginning to believe the romance of Route 66 comes out of a longing to reconnect with one another. And isn’t that what we’re doing here on advrider.com? Connecting with one another?

WHERE NEXT?

The Mecca for the Ozark Trail is Monte Ne, the resort built by Ozark Trail champion William “Coin” Harvey. The ruins, near Rogers, would require an overnight trip but the GF will be out of town for a weekend soon and . . .

Stroud Marker Redeaux

MOVING OBELISKS

I first learned about the Ozark Trail while researching a Route 66 trip. Large sections of the Ozark Trail were incorporated into Route 66. The first website I found regarding the trail markers was www.drivetheost.com/pyramidsonthetra.html. Its reference to the Stroud marker says “despite being moved and covered with graffiti”. So I assumed the marker was not in its original location. Further Google searches turned up a national park service site, www.nps.gov/history/nr/travel/route66/oklahoma_road_segments.html, which indicates that the marker is, in fact, in its original location and the dirt road I was on was part of the OT! From that intersection west I could drive on the ORIGINAL TRAIL into Davenport! The same NPS site showed a section of road west of Sapulpa that was also part of the Ozark Trail. At the East end of the Sapulpa section of original roadway is the Rock Creek Bridge. Built in 1924 to serve the Ozark Trail the bridge features a brick roadbed. Both sections were incorporated into Route 66 when it first came into being in 1926.

So my return trip to Langston would be a repeat of my first plan, but with the added destination of the Rock Creek Bridge outside of Sapulpa. A lot to pack into a single day! I started early.



AMERICA'S DIRT ROAD MAIN STREET

Davenport is on a 90o curve, but coming in from the west I could see where the old asphalt went straight. So I went straight, too.

The faint yellow shadow of “no passing” lines could just barely be seen on the worn roadway as I rolled past the Davenport High School Football stadium. The road signs said I was on Rd 900. When I got to the intersection of Rd 900 and Rd 3520, the asphalt turned north. But I continued straight. Two miles later I came to the intersection with Rd 3540. The obelisk is on Rd 3540. But there was no obelisk. So I turned north to find it. And I did, at the intersection with Rd 890.

I stopped to take some more photos of the obelisk and of the original roadway headed to the west when the local authorities showed up. You don’t see too many Ninjas on dirt roads in Lincoln County and he wondered what I was up to.



I told him I’d come to see the “monument” and to ride the original roadway back into Davenport. That’s when he told me about another marker he’d seen near Yale, OK on old hwy 51. This would be an EIGHTH OBELISK! He wasn’t certain what town it was in, but said he had been taking the “back way” from Yale to Fairfax when he came upon it. This makes sense as the old Ozark Trail was more a network of roads all radiating out from Northwest Arkansas and NOT a single route like the Lincoln Highway.

The road to Davenport was smooth dirt. I kept an eye peeled for a pair of stone box drain built by the local chapter of the Ozark Trail Association around 1917. If it hadn’t been for the orange markers the county put out, I might have missed them.




The east drain is fairly large with an opening close to six feet high.



The west drain is about a third the size.





Near the end of this section is the Dosie Creek Bridge. This is the 2004 bridge. It replaced the steel trussed, wood decked structure built in 1917 to support the Ozark Trail. The low red guard rails just don't compare to the grace of the gentle arches of the pony trusses of the old bridge. A sad loss.



ON TO SAPULPA!

Trail Markers

Before the Federal Aid Highway Act of 1925 created the United States Highway System there were “good roads committees” scattered across the country. Often these committees would band together in associations to enable travelers to follow standardized routes from state to state. These were the named highways. Some were coast to coast like the Lincoln Highway and the Old Spanish Trail. Some were regional auto trails, like the Ozark Trail.

Most of these named trails were championed by a single individual. For the Ozark Trail it was William Hope Harvey, author, financial theorist and one time presidential candidate.

Harvey had built a large resort near Rogers, AR, in 1901 called "Monte Ne". In 1914 the railroad that serviced Harvey’s resort went bankrupt and was abandoned. Harvey decided the only way to continue to get people to his resort was to promote automobile travel. He formed and promoted the Ozark Trail which radiated out from Rogers ultimately linking cities and towns from St. Louis to Roswell, NM.

Remnants of the trail can still be found. Seven trail markers, 21 foot tall concrete obelisks, remain in Stroud and Langston, Oklahoma; in Dimmit, Wellington, Tulia and Tampico, Texas and in Lake Arthur, New Mexico. There are also old roadways, both paved and unpaved, old bridges and even the remains of Monte Ne. It has all the makings of a motorcycle adventure!

THE OKLAHOMA OBELISK’S
I decided to start with the two obelisks here in Oklahoma. It would be an easy loop out of Oklahoma City on Old Route 66 to Stroud; north on OK 99 to OK33; then west to Langston. An easy Sunday afternoon ride.

When I arrived in Stroud a quick up and down Main Street yielded a cute little tourist court on the east end of town,



the world famous Rock Café




and the Skyliner Motel at the east end,




But no obelisks. So I stopped in at Kid’s Phillips 66 gas station for directions.




The clerk didn’t know what I was talking about. So I described the obelisk to her. “Oh you mean the monument!” she exclaimed.

She didn’t know how to find it. So as customers lined up behind me, she called her husband on her cell phone. When he answered she said, “This guy is looking for the monument. Can you tell him how to get there?” and handed me the phone.

His instructions led me to the west end of town and south a mile and a half on a dirt road to the obelisk.




Apparently area youth regularly cover it with graffiti without ever knowing its significance.



The Stroud marker was so easy to find I figured that I wouldn’t have a problem finding the Langston marker. Even though it would be dark by the time I got there.

“Yeah, it’s somewhere in a neighborhood in town,” the clerk at the quick stop in Langston told me. “I don’t know exactly what street it’s on, but town’s not that big.”

Hmmm. A guy on a motorcycle riding up and down the streets of a small Oklahoma town . . . after dark. I opted to head on back to Oklahoma City and try again another day. Good thing. When I got home and turned on the news, they were running a story about a shooting in Langston!

I began planning my DAYLIGHT ride back to Langston.